Every year, just about this time, a familiar feeling sets in when it comes to UNC basketball: I just don’t know how I can love any player as much as I love these current ones. Whether it’s Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Marcus Paige, Justin Jackson, Joel Berry II, or Theo Pinson, or any of the 100s of others who have put on Carolina blue, they’ve each found a way to endear themselves to Tar Heel fans in a way that feels very permanent.
I wanted a national championship for Paige and Brice Johnson just about more than anything I can remember.